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The Outstanding Lecturer Award recognizes a lecturer for excellence in teaching effectiveness
and service to the San José State campus community.

Janet (Jan) Hagemann

Janet Hagemann doesn't mind talking about her prison time, including many visits to
San Quentin State Prison and the Santa Clara County jail. Sharing the ins and outs
of the criminal justice system is just part of her engaging style as a justice studies
lecturer -- and what helped her earn the 2009-2010 Outstanding Lecturer Award.

Hagemann gives her students first-hand experience in criminal justice through field
trips to correctional facilities, courts, law enforcement agencies and the coroner's
office. She also teaches them to hone their writing skills in the 100W classes she's
been teaching since 1982, when she admittedly fell into her career at San José State.

"I've gone through my life with no real plan," Hagemann happily confesses. Instead,
she followed her interests and took advantage of opportunities that arose, and has
ended up with a career that blends what she loves: teaching, working with criminal
justice professionals and helping young people find their way in the world.

"It was in her class where I learned where I am comfortable and where I fit in criminal
justice," wrote one student who plans to go to law school and one day work as a public
defender. And a former student who is now a probation officer wrote that Hagemann
"empowered me to succeed."

Hagemann's service to San José State is not limited to its students, however. She
co-authored a Handbook for Lecturers and a 100W Instructor's Handbook, and contributed to the development of a lecturer orientation through the Center
for Faculty Development. She is one of the founding members of the partnership between
the Writing Center and the Fabretto Children's Foundation in Nicaragua. Hagemann also
acted as chair of the planning committee for the Justice Studies Department 75th anniversary
celebration.

Hagemann earned a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and a teaching credential and
master's degree from San José State. She currently teaches 100W in the Justice Studies
Department and is Faculty-in-Residence at the SJSU Writing Center.